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FAA to UAS Violation Enforcement for December 2021 (hopefully one of many)

BigAl07

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As you'll soon be hearing from @Vic Moss and Greg @pilotinstitute have been working to get more "information" released to the public about enforcement actions/fines/sanctions that have been taken against UAS operations. In our FAA Safty Team report we finally had a tid bit we can share.

This is taken directly from the EMAIL but expect more from those I mentioned at the start of this:

"Recent Drone Enforcement Case
In December 2021, the FAA issued a fine to a drone operator for flying a drone over protest events in upstate New York. The regulations violated by the recreational flyer that happened during a series of three separate flights in October and November 2020. The self-proclaimed recreational flyer did not comply with all of the eight requirements listed in section (a) of 49 USC § 44809 — the exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft. Section (b) of the statute states when recreational flyers fail to comply with any of the eight limitations contained in section (a), they must comply with the applicable regulations governing the operation of drones. In this case, since the drone was a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), 14 CFR part 107 was the applicable regulatory part.
The FAA investigation revealed the flights were over people, at night, in controlled airspace without an authorization, and posed a hazard to people and property below. As a result, the FAA determined the operator of the drone was in noncompliance with section 44809 and therefore subject to 14 CFR part 107. The following list of regulations were cited in the enforcement case:

  1. 107.12(b): no remote pilot certificate.
  2. 107.13: drone not registered.
  3. 107.19(c): posing a hazard to people, aircraft, or property.
  4. 107.23(a): careless or reckless flying.
  5. 107.29(a): flying at night without a waiver (prior to the new operations over people or at night rule).
  6. 107.39: flying over people without a waiver (prior to the new operations over people or at night rule).
  7. 107.41: flying in controlled airspace without authorization.
  8. 107.65: no 24 month recency of knowledge.
The drone operator was assessed a civil penalty for $15,205 which had to be paid immediately.

Hopefully this is the first of many publications so we can actually let you know what CAN happen if you insist on being "That guy/girl".
 
I saw that on the PI 107 Study Facebook Group. It was hard to believe people in there wondering if he got a fair shake or not. Makes me wonder if they are really going for their 107 or not. Boneheads like the guy that got the $15,000 fine are the reason we get so much bad press in the first place.
 
I saw that on the PI 107 Study Facebook Group. It was hard to believe people in there wondering if he got a fair shake or not. Makes me wonder if they are really going for their 107 or not. Boneheads like the guy that got the $15,000 fine are the reason we get so much bad press in the first place.
Thousands of people buy drones and most of them don't bother to read any rules. They don't know there are laws we all need to follow. There is a small section in small print in some owners manuals that address this butfor the most part,most drone buyers know nothing about the rules,the laws etc. they think it's just another toy.My first drone was a little sky viper. First thing I did was go on you tube and read all about drones,and I picked up on the registering rules and FAA laws real quick. That was over 5 years ago.I now have 8 drones,3Yuneec and all are registered under 1 faa number. I fly for a hobby only and read,study and follow all the rules. There must be a way to warn the general public that there are rules and even a first offense may cost you a ton of money.As for the "boneheads"nothing you say or try to tell them will sink in anyways. Peace KC
 
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As for the "boneheads"nothing you say or try to tell them will sink in anyways.
Maybe so, but I’ll keep preaching!

The not knowing about rules is a thing of the past. The ONLY way to not know at this time is to be an ostrich. It is plastered all over the internet and social media. When I got my first drone I got online and searched for drone rules in the USA just as you did. That was right after the requirement to register as a recreational pilot had just been reinstated at the end of 2017. I have not seen a drone yet that didn’t have some blurb in the packaging saying something about checking the rules in your area/country.
 
DM. You are correct. I looked through all my manuals and there is some form of small print in each one about registering the drone, Still most flyers can't wait to get the bird in the air. Also they put the rules aside thinking It will never happen to me. They assume their backyard toy couldn't hurt a fly. And we all know what will or can happen from there.I am getting older and tend to forget stuff,moreso I do know the rules,and try to stay out of trouble. I don't have as much fun with my h, for example cus I am too cautious of the rules and sometimes this takes some of the fun out of if. I know how easy it is to go too far, too high,or what to do when the drone goes wacky usually caused by pilot error of some kind,akin to what you forgot to do so the drone was completly ready to fly. If fliers took the time to study the manuals on this forum 95% of problems would go away. Peace KC
 
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If you want to be entertained read the ensuing posts after the same post was made in MavicPilots forum. It is a tug of war between the fly by the rules guys and the hotdog pilots.

 
If you want to be entertained read the ensuing posts after the same post was made in MavicPilots forum. It is a tug of war between the fly by the rules guys and the hotdog pilots.

A fine example of why I don't bother going there anymore.
 
A fine example of why I don't bother going there anymore.
The good news is that I’m starting to see more response from those following the rules than the Mavic Mavericks.
 
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In Australia, we now get a decent size yellow piece of paper in the box with any remotely operated aircraft that tells you there are laws, and you need to go read them at the CASA website, etc. Can't remember exactly what it says, but it's eye catchingrecrechard to ignore.

I didn't even buy my first aircraft until I'd done a course on drone stuff that covered laws, safety, etc. It's all changed now, unfortunately. We have to pay a registration fee for "commercial" use, and commercial use can be as little as posting a clip on YouTube in case it later makes money.

I had mine registered for commercial use to start with, but their estimated $20, which I would have paid, went up to $40 by the time they started asking for money.... When I'm making $0 off it at the moment, and I've got 2 registered, and I have very little income, they priced me out of it.

I'm probably going to still go out at record clips for my project, but just for my own use now instead.
 
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